It hasn't been a good few weeks for Atlantic Yards and, now, a prominent Brooklyn City Council Member is calling for a moratorium on demolition for the project in Prospect Heights until the developer can come up with a timetable for the project and guarantees about affordable housing. City Council Member Bill de Blasio, who has supported the project, says he's "livid" that developer Bruce Ratner told the New York Times the project had stalled and that plans had radically changed before telling anyone in the community. He said the changes put "the entire community benefits agreement up for question." Yesterday, the Post detailed more than $2 billion in public subsidies the project would need, accounting for about half its cost. The Council Member says that "we need to revisit" the project if the developer indicates the project has changed, for instance to include limited affordable housing and just a basketball arena. In the meantime, he says there should be "a moratorium on demolition until there is a written plan" that "confirms what will be built when." Last week, some neighbors of the project called for a halt to demolition too. Control of the project is at the state level and there will be little left to stop demolishing in 4-6 weeks, but it's still another entry on the Atlantic Yards Timeline of Depair.
· De Blasio Calls for a Moratorium on Atlantic Yards Demolition [Gowanus Lounge]
· De Blasio Blasts Ratner on AY Obfuscation [Brownstoner]
[Photo courtesy of threecee/flickr]
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